Halo 2

Today the original Xbox turns a decade old. Celebrate with our countdown of the 25 greatest games to ever appear on Microsoft’s first console. How many of these choices did you play, and how many do you agree with?

Ten years ago today, Microsoft released the original Xbox in North America. While it was far from the best-selling console of all time, moving a relatively meager 25 million consoles, the system was still groundbreaking in a number of ways. It also set up Microsoft to release their next system, the Xbox 360, which would beat the competition to retail by nearly a year. But how did Microsoft, a company that had never even dabbled in game consoles, go from nothing to great success in so little time?

We, naturally, have the answers. While some might argue that the PlayStation 2 (check out Six reasons the PS2 is the best console of all time) or the GameCube were the greatest consoles ever, there's definitely grounds to make that argument for the original Xbox as well, and we have compiled six reasons the original Xbox is, indeed, the best console of all time...

Halo wasn't the first shooter. Halo wasn't the first to introduce online multiplayer. Halo wasn't even the first Bungie game to feature an armored peacekeeper and sexy female AI battling aliens in outer space. Halo, in many ways, is unoriginal.

Yet no other series – with the possible exception of Grand Theft Auto – has had such a clear, obvious and indisputable impact on the videogame industry over the past decade. To welcome the release of Halo: Reach tomorrow, which also marks the end of Bungie's involvement with their best-selling creation, here are seven of the franchise's biggest influences...

The purpose of any good trailer is to sex up the thing it's selling. That or give you informative warnings about head lice prevention. So we get that games sometimes appear more exciting than they actually are when they're compressed down into 90 second chunks, with ninja editing skills and a rousing soundtrack.

But bugger us if watching the Halo: Reach trailer then seeing the playable footage from Microsoft's E3 conference isn't the equivalent of Songs of Praise being advertised with a Debby Does Dallas trailer. Take a gander inside to see what we're talking about.

So that's it, then. After six years the epic Lost comes to an end in pretty disappointing style. If you've yet to see the finale, just take comfort that it doesn't end up all being a dream of the dog. Still, the fairly crushing finale got us thinking about equally epic games that ended on a disappointing whimper. And all the titles inside are either guilty of rubbish, anti climactic endings or deeply underwhelming last levels/ bosses.

April 14, 2010 was supposed to be the end. By midnight, Microsoft planned to shut down the original Xbox Live servers, and Halo 2 fans would be forced to play their very last matches. Never underestimate the passion or determination of gamers. A handful of players quickly realized they could keep playing Halo 2 as long as they left their Xbox consoles powered on, and for another three and a half weeks, that's exactly what they did. 

Who were these Halo 2 holdouts? Why did they choose to play so long, and what was the experience like? I interviewed five of the few to find out...

Welcome to Bungie, where you're more likely to catch a guy walking down the hall swinging a Gravity Hammer than a guy walking down the hall in a necktie. Last week, I visited Halo HQ for five hours of hands-on with Reach's multiplayer and, while there, snapped some photos of the lobby, hallways and game demo rooms to share the experience with you, my jealous readers.

After all, why should I be the only one who gets to stand next to a life-size Master Chief? Enjoy the tour, and let us know if these "behind the scenes" peeks are something you'd like to see more of in the future...

All good things have endings, and Microsoft’s put a big ol’ “Do Not Resuscitate” on Xbox Live support’s chest – at least for original Xbox games. On April 15, the plug will be pulled and we’ll no longer be able to play our original Xbox games online, on Xbox or Xbox 360. Sure, you’ll still be able to play the campaign mode, but say goodbye to killing Pinky with that one guy on Doom 3 co-op, or drifting into that other guy’s car in Burnout 3 multiplayer.

Halo: Reach isn’t the only reason that 2010 is going to be a huge year for Halo fans. This is a franchise that has become bigger than the games themselves, with toys, books, comics and more helping Halo become one of the strongest, most recognizable brands in the world.

The recently formed 343 Industries has been anointed the overseer of this brand, including any new games and every conceivable spinoff.

Facelifts and other forms of cosmetic surgery aren’t just for aging MILFs, dried-up Hollywood C-listers and 40 stone blobs who have to get forklifted out of their beds. No, sometimes our favourite game stars need a bit of a nip and tuck too. After all, there’s no point battling hordes of the undead or saving the planet from a cult of religious alien zealots if you’re sporting last season’s armour or an out of date